Saving tips on vacationing this summer 2010!

Summer vacation season is just a few weeks away and beaches, amusement parks, and even far-off lands are beckoning.

But should you consider going on vacation this year, even if you are not sure of the economy’s direction quite yet? 

The answer, of course, depends on your own financial situation. 

What is the evidence that vacationing could still be a bargain this year?

Las Vegas has been particularly hard hit by the recession and the resulting drop in convention business, which is the city’s cash cow. 

In 2009 we saw good off-Strip hotels going for $19 a night. Now you can get those rooms for $10 a night midweek. 

The Strip has added 12,000 rooms because the CityCenter resort area recently opened with 6,000 new rooms and the Planet Hollywood [Resort and Casino] and Hard Rock Hotel [and Casino] each have opened new towers with 3,000 rooms each. 

Also, the most glamorous hotel in Las Vegas, the Aria [Resort] and Casino, just opened, and it has rooms going for $149 most nights. That sets the standard for the other hotels on the Strip. 

What if you aren’t interested in package offers, but want to make your own arrangements?

Now is the time to play “Let’s Make a Deal.” If there is a hotel you want to go to, don’t call the 800 number provided by the chain; call the hotel’s local number. Tell them, “I can afford X dollars, will you take that?” You’d be amazed how often an offer like that is accepted nowadays. 

There is also a new website, dealbase.com,* where you can find out the freebies—such as free breakfast or Internet access—hotels are now offering with their rooms.  

You should also take a look at Yapta.com,* which stands for “Your amazing personal travel assistant.” 

The site allows you to track daily hotel rates. You can see the ceiling and floor prices your favorite hotel is charging. Using that information, you can call and say, “I see you are selling a room for this much a night; will you give me that price?” 

They probably will, and you can then book the room, which you usually don’t have to pay for until you get there. You can go on tracking the price of the room, and if it goes down further, you call back, cancel the existing reservation, and make another one for the lower price. 

Hotelscombined.com* also is a good site to check for hotel prices.  

How about alternatives to hotels? 

You can think about bed and breakfasts, or renting in someone’s apartment. Interhome.com* and Untours.com* are good websites for finding home rentals. BedandBreakfast.com* works well for B&B stays. For direct-to-owner rentals, try Vrbo.com* or Rentalo.com.*  

Many people like to rent condos for vacation. Are those still a good deal?

A lot of people are renting condos near major metropolitan areas for vacations, so those prices are not as low as in 2009. 

But condos in fly-to destinations such as Colorado and Hawaii are suffering, and you can get remarkable deals. You can get a two-bedroom condo in Maui for $69 a night, which is just astounding.

Vrbo.com* and flipkey.com* are good websites for finding condo rentals.

What about package deals?

As in 2009, package tours are still good deals.

Bookit.com* is good for deals to the Mexican Riviera. 

Other websites specializing in package deals include gate1travel.com* and Go-today.com* for Europe; vacmart.com* for the Caribbean; and, swavacations.com* for Orlando, Las Vegas, as well as hot spots in California. 

Cruises are very popular in good times. What about this year? 

Alaska cruises, which were cheap in 2009, are not this year because a lot of cruise lines have pulled their ships out of there and prices are rising as inventory has fallen. 

However, the cruise lines have moved those ships to Europe, the Caribbean, and the Mexican Riviera. So I think you’ll see good prices in those places this summer. 

Consider booking with a cruise agency such as Cruisesonly.com,* Cruisebrothers.com,* Vacationstogo.com,* and Galaxsea.com.*  

Agencies get lots of special perks, which they pass on to clients. You get perks like $200 or $300 to spend aboard. Some even have been giving free airfare to the port of embarkation. 

Can you get good deals on airfares? 

You can use Yapta.com to track airfares, just like hotel rates. You can also find good fares on websites known as aggregators, which search airline databases for the best airfares. They are impartial and don’t charge fees, like some travel sites do. 

Momondo* and Dohop.com search hundreds of airlines, as well as other websites, such as Orbitz.com.* Ryanair.com* and easyJet.com* are really good for finding European low-cost airlines. Sidestep.com* and Kayak.com are also good.   

How about Europe? 

Ireland is in really bad shape this year because their housing crisis is even worse than ours. You can get remarkable packages. There is one that is designed for four people, which would be ideal for a family. It is $900 a week per person and that includes airfare and a car with a manual shift.  

You can check out Brian Moore International Tours,* Sceptretours.com,* and AerLingus.com* for deals.  

What precautions should you take when making travel arrangements? 

These days it is more important than ever to buy travel insurance because so many tour operators are [having financial difficulties]. 

You may want to look at the website insuremytrip.com,* which acts as a clearinghouse for information on a number of travel insurance companies.  

When booking a hotel, look out for hidden fees, such as a resort fee. That alone can add $15 a night to the cost of the room. 

If you are thinking about buying an Entertainment Book or a sightseeing pass, make sure you’ll be using it enough to justify buying it. A lot of people don’t and don’t even make the purchase price back. 

What if you still can’t afford much, even with great discounts and bargains? 

One of the great things about living in the United States is that there is always something incredible to do within two or three hours of where you live. 

If you’d like to take a longer vacation on the cheap, there’s always camping. Our national parks are our nation’s greatest treasures. And they’re affordable. You pay $15 or $20 to get in for a week and an additional $5 or $15 a night for your site. You can have a great vacation for four people for a week for less than $200.

Thanks Pauline Frommer, creator of Pauline Frommer’s* Guidebooks.